Many devices that are operated with electrical power receive the power as either alternating current (AC) or direct current (DC) electrical signals. As is known in the art, electrical power is often delivered through a power grid as an AC signal using one or more AC phases. Electrical rectifier circuits and other devices including switched-mode power supplies are known to the art for the conversion of AC electrical signals to DC signals. Additionally, inverter circuits are known to the art for the conversion of a DC signal to an output AC signal.
Some electrical power systems include multiple modes of operation that use both AC and DC power signals. One example of such a system includes a battery in an energy generation system. For example, wind turbines generate electrical power as an AC waveform. The wind turbines supply some of the electrical power to an electrical utility grid in the form of AC electrical signals, but some of the electrical power is stored in batteries for later use. The electrical generation system includes rectifiers or other known systems to convert the AC signals received from the wind turbines to DC signals in order to charge the batteries. At another time, the batteries generate DC power that is converted back to AC through an inverter. The prior art system requires separate circuits control systems to regulate both the charging and discharging of the battery using both AC and DC power signals. While a battery energy storage system is one example of an electrical system that utilizes both AC and DC signals, many other electrical systems use AC and DC electrical signals in different operating modes. The complexity of separate electrical circuits that perform AC-to-DC and DC-to-AC conversion increases the costs and decreases the reliability of electrical systems that utilize both AC and DC electrical signals. Consequently, improvements to electrical circuits and systems for the conversion from AC to DC and from DC to AC electrical signals would be beneficial.